Progress Update for 1/31

Yesterday I posted about what I call “writer’s block”:http://www.heberts.net/~stephen/writing/writers-block-self-doubt-heres-what-i-do — which, admittedly, might be a little different from what you have experienced. My solution was pretty simple: Move On. So, today I did that.

I got my thousand words in nice and easy by moving to something new. My new project is a short story about a guy who carries on a conversation with himself while driving. It’s late at night and he talks himself into a paranoid fit as he observes a car behind him that he is convinced is following him.

The story has taken an altogether different tone than I first imagined. Originally, I had based it on an episode that I’d had recently where I was convinced I was being followed. I realized quite early on in this little episode that I was being ridiculous. Basically, a car had made the same turn that I’d made — on to a busy street no less! For some reason, however, I felt a great deal of anxiety.

In my initial concept, the man expressed increasing amounts of fear as he tried to shake this car tailing him. This isn’t exactly what’s going on. Is he afraid? You bet. But, as I’ve dug a little deeper, I’ve discovered that this guy is borderline schizophrenic, talking to himself and remembering events from his past as he moves along.

Where will it lead? Not sure yet. Stay tuned.

On a fairly unrelated topic–I’m glad to announce that I will begin the revision process for “Execution” in only 4 days (“completed on January 7”:http://www.heberts.net/~stephen/writing/progress-update-for-17, you see). I’ve been thinking about some elements in that story, and I am excited to get back to work on it.